fuel tank

[George Waite]

For anyone making a steel tank for their boat I have adopted the following procedure to prevent internal corrosion whilst awaiting installation:
All the all penetrations now welded/screwed in to my fuel tank and as I am not going to final fit until the boat is planked/sheeted up I mixed up some deisel spirit with SAE 10/20 oil, poured about half a litre in to the tank, shook it about and drained it. This has now coated the inside of the tank (which is mild steel) with a fine coating of oil. Plugged up all the fittings and its now ready to paint.
George

[George Waite]

To anyone interested
My paint sequence for the outside of the fuel tank bearing in mind that it lives in an "out of sight out of mind" damp environment. First a overall wire brushing to remove loose fine rust followed by a treatment with a Phosphoric Acid etch ("Jenolite"). A warm water wash and dry followed immeadiately by two coats of hammerite black. The final top coat was one of coal tar based tank paint. A zinc anode has been attached to the base of the tank at the point of maximum condensation.

[Mike]

George

Thank you very much for both the above posts. As you know, I am not much of a 'metal man' but I can see the great value in knowing these facts about how a professional deals with the issues to which you refer.

Great stuff - and just the kind of post that is so very helpful to others. :approval:

Rrrrespeck! :tea: